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The first time I tried Mulligatawny soup it was out of a Heinz tin. As a kid, I thought it was Scottish. Of course it wasn’t the mild spices that lead me to my conclusion but the name, to me, sounded very much from Scotland. It’s not really much of a surprise as the very same child thought that ‘random’ was a small town near Manchester. You know when you’re watching a TV show and they say, ‘Winners will be chosen at random’? Well I thought it was a happy place where, in a special building, there were winners everywhere. I was very much a youngster who lived in a world of Rainbows and Unicorns!

I pulled this soup together a couple of weeks ago when my husband came home from work feeling a little fluey. He said he wasn’t hungry but I had to make sure he got his vitamins if he was going to get better and it went down a treat! It’s so miserable here in Singapore at the moment. Earlier this year we had no rain at all for about 8 or 9 weeks but now we seem to be getting some everyday. This soup is full of goodness and along with the spices, a yummy, healthy, comforting dinner when the heavens are opening up outside.

This recipe, which serves 6, comes out similar to a dhal’s consistency which you can thin out if you would prefer with some extra stock but I personally like it just the way it is.

When I’m cookingI like to prepare a Mise en Place before I start with anything else. I have multiple ramekins, dishes of various sizes and plastic containers that fill my cupboards and are used almost daily for this purpose. Our kitchen has very little worktop space so if I start making a meal and haven’t prepared anything, the odds are that something will go wrong. If I keep all my prepared ingredients in their own area, fill the sink with hot soapy water and throw the pots and ramekins straight into the washing up bowl whilst I’m cooking, I find it not only keeps the mess to a minimum, but during those periods where I have to wait 5/10 minutes before the next step, I can get those pots washed, dried and put away making much less tidying to do after dinner. And that my friends, is what I call a good result!

What you’ll need:

250g Minced Lamb

1 tbsp Sunflower Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic, 2 finely chopped and one squished with the flat side of a knife

1 bay leaf

1 Large Onion, finely chopped

2 Medium Carrots, cut into smallish chunks

2 Celery Sticks, sliced

1 Large or Two Small Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into smallish chunks

1 Tbsp Curry Powder

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 Tbsp Tomato Puree

1 Eating Apple, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks

1/2 a Fresh Mango, cut into chunks (You can take the other half, chop into pieces and freeze in two parts, I have another recipe coming soon that it can be used in!)

1 Litre Hot Chicken Stock

1 Cup of Uncooked Green Lentils

Fresh Coriander, Natural Yogurt and flat breads to serve

Get all your ingredients ready as directed above and once prepped, set the oil on a medium heat in a saucepan and start browning the lamb. Whilst this is going on, place the lentils in second saucepan and add the one squished garlic clove and a bay leaf to help add some flavour into them whilst cooking. Add 2 cups of hot water and simmer for around 20 minutes. Once the lamb has browned, add in the onion, carrots, celery, sweet potato and the remaining garlic. Pop the lid on and sweat out for around 10 minutes stirring or shaking the pan occasionally to prevent sticking on the bottom. Once soft, add in the tomato puree, curry powder and cinnamon. Stir well before pouring in the hot stock, apple and fresh mango and simmer for about 5 minutes. Check your veggies are tender before turning off the heat and leaving to cool for a few minutes. Your lentils should now be quite soft so drain them and remove the garlic and bay. Set them aside whilst you blend the soup in a food processor. It’s up to you how much you process the soup but I like to leave a few little lumps in there. Pour back into the saucepan and stir in the lentils. Season with salt and pepper before serving with a dollop of yogurt, a scattering of coriander and your chosen flat bread, pitta, chapati or naan.

This weeks Soup of the Week is a repeat of an earlier post. In fact, the original post is exactly a year old. It’s amazing how much my life has changed in that last year, the first sentence of the original post just proves this. Back then, I was in my kitchen back in Geneva, just about coping with the freezing Swiss winter, completely unaware that I was about to receive a marriage proposal followed by the opportunity to move to yet another foreign land and now, here I am in sunny Singapore where it’s a muggy 29 degrees this evening! Anyway, back to the soup, it’s such a great recipe (in my humble opinion!) I have to share it with you all again. So if you haven’t tried it yourself yet, here’s another chance! As far as frequent cooking goes, this one is high up there. In fact, I’m sipping a mug of it right now whilst I’m typing this!

I hope you don’t think I’m being lazy! This one has been a busy week for me. Chinese New Year this Friday means a bank holiday weekend here in Singapore and we have taken the opportunity to skip away to Bali for a couple of nights, our Christmas present to each other. With so much to do before we leave for our short flight tomorrow, this is likely to be the only post from me until next week when I’ll be letting you know how it went with my attempt at traditional Pineapple Tarts. From what it sounds like, these are South East Asia’s version of the much loved Mince Pie and a tasty sweet treat for Chinese New Year!

I almost forgot, here’s the link back to my original post. See you in the (Chinese) New Year everyone!

Brrrrr it’s cold outside!! When it’s like this, a comforting soup really hits the spot and this is my favorite by a long shot which is actually slightly irritating because if I have it in a restaurant or bought from a store it is never good enough! My Dad used to make this one and I haven’t adapted it in anyway whatsoever as it is delicious as it is.

Serves 6

450g carrots cut into chunks

15ml olive oil

40g butter

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stick, sliced, plus 2 to 3 pale leafy celery tops

2 small potatoes, chopped

1 litre chicken or vegetable stock

3 tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

200ml milk

salt and fresh ground black pepper

Heat the oil and 25g of the butter in a heavy based saucepan and fry the onion over a low heat until it is softened, but not browned. Now add the sliced celery stick and potatoes to the pan, cook for a few minutes before adding the carrots. Fry over a low heat stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes and then cover. Reduce the heat even further and sweat for about 10 minutes. Shake or stir the pan occasionally so the vegetables don’t stick to the base. Now add the stock, bring to the boil and then partially cover and simmer for a further 8-10 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are tender. Set aside 6-8 tiny celery leaves for garnish and finely chop the celery tops. Melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan and fry the ground coriander, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Reduce the heat, add the celery tops and fresh coriander and fry for about 1 minute. Set aside. Process the soup in a blender or food processor. Stir in the milk, coriander mixture and season. Heat gently, taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve garnished with the fresh celery leaves and you have a tasty winter warmer!